Filter mouthpiece cigarette making machines



Nov. 28, 1961 E. RICKE 3,010,561

FILTER MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Original Filed Dec. 26, 19572 Sheets-Sheet 1 WI U} M M I U/ LL? 7 l L U\ Nov. 28, 1961 E. RICKE3,010,561

FILTER MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Original Filed Dec. 26, 19572 Sheets-Sheet 2 United Smtes Patent Ofiice 3,010,551 Patented Nov. 28,1961 The present invention relates to improvements in cigarette makingmachines, and more particularly to an apparatus for dividing, staggeringand orienting r lter bodies so that they may be fed in a single line andunited with the ends of spaced apart cigarettes. The present applicationis adivision of US. application, Serial Number 705,363, filed December26, 1957, for Filter Mouth piece Cigarette lvlaking Machines.

- One object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for severing,dividing and feeding multi-leugths of cigarette rod equal to apredetermined number of double length filter tip units so that thedouble length filter tip units will be arranged and fed in a single lineto a filter tip cigarette makin machine and between spaced apartcigarettes.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for cutting a predeterminedlength of cigarette rod to form a plurality of double length filterunits which are staggered after being cut and then arranged or orientedin such a manner that the double length filter units will be fed in asingle line along a pathway transverse to the axis of the filter unitmouthpiece.

Another ob ect is to provide an apparatus in which filter rods of apredetermined length are fed to a rotating member and then severed sothat the severed portions may be displaced a small angular distanceclockwise and counterclockwise, while an intermediate cut portion of therod remains on the rotary member. The circumferentially moved portionsof the filter rod being thus arranged in a staggered relation arebrought into registery with grooves in the rotary member, and are thenshifted in an axial direction to be deposited in said grooves and fed ina single line to a point where they are deposited on the drum of acigarette making machine and disposed between the inner spaced ends ofthe cigarette rod sections.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for staggering double lengthfilter units on a rotary carrier by depositing a length .of filter rodon the carrier equal in length to a plurality of double filter units andto deposit the rod in every third groove in the rotary carrier so thatafter the rod is cut into three sections to form three double lengthfilter units, the endmost units may be shifted in a direction lateral totheir longitudinal axis so that they may be disposed in axial alignmentwith vacant grooves in the rotary carrier and then moved axially intosaid grooves to completely fill all of the grooves in the rotarycarrier, and arrange the double length filter units in a single line forbeing fed and deposited between the inner ends of cigarette rods on acigarette making machine.

Another object is to provide an apparatus which is used for staggeringrod-shaped objects such as cigarette mouthpiece filter bodies, and inwhich rods of a multiple standard length are cut into sections of doublestandard length. After the filter rod is thus cut, the double lengthfilter units are staggered so that they are disposed one after anotherand are then moved axially by means of circularly arranged guide bladeswhich move the endmost portions of the rod after being cut into vacantgrooves in the apparatus such that the double length filter units willbe conveyed and fed one after another in a single straight line.

Another object is to provide an apparatus in which the filter conveyingdrum is also employed for feeding the filter mouthpiece units tothe'cigarette making machine which usually includes a drum havinggrooves for re-' predetermined length after the same has been deposited.

or fed to the rotary carrier.-

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description of the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus for staggering thefilter rod sections after they have been cut by a rotary disc. 7 7

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which thefilter rod units are deposited in every third groove of the rotarycarrier, and showing the manner in which they are staggered after beingcut to be displaced andoccupy the vacant grooves in the rotary carrier.i 7

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of one station along the'circuitouspathway which has been projected as shown in FIGURE 2 to illustrate theposition of the filter rod section after it has been cut on oppositesides of the rotary carrier to form three filter units with each unitequal in length to a double filter unit. 1

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which theoutermost filter rod sections of double length are movedcircumferentially clockwise. and counter-clockwise in a staggered order.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which the endportions of the cut filter rod are displaced axially after beingstaggered to position the same in a straight line one behind the other.7

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a filte rod ofpredetermined length deposited on the carrier after the cut lengths ofdouble filter units have been fed to the cigarette making machine anddeposited between the inner adjacent ends of a pair of axially spacedcigarettes.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus showingthe rotary carrier and one set of transfer arms in a position assumed atthe feeding station where lengths of filter rod of predetermined lengthare 'fed to the rotary carrier. i

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the rotary carriersimilar to FIGURE 7, but showing the set of transfer arms movedclockwise and counter-clockwise to dispose and position the outerSections of the filter rod so that they will be aligned with vacantgrooves ahead of and in back of the groove in the rotary carrier inwhich the filter rod of predetermined length is initially seated, and

FIGURE 9 is a radial cross-sectional view on line 99 of FIGURE 7 lookingin the direction of the arrows and illustrating various structural partsof the carrier and transfer arms In the drawings, and more in detail,attention is first directed to FIGURES 1 to 6 inclusive wherein there isshown diagrammatically an embodiment of the invention including a rotarydrum body or disc 17 mounted to rotate about a shaft 44. The peripheralsurface of the rotary disc 17 is provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced grooves 16 which are diagrammaticallyillustrated in FIGURE 1 and shown structurally in FIGURES 7 to 9inclusive. Arranged between the peripheral grooves 16 and likewiseequidistantly spaced and circumferentially arranged with respect to thegrooves 16 are grooves 30 and e 31. The grooves 30 and 31 are showndiagrammatically in FIGURE 1, and illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8 asbeing arranged so that the groove 30 is on the left hand side of thegroove 16, while the groove 31 is on the opposite side. The grooves 16,30 and 31 are arranged around the periphery of the disc or drum body 17and filter rod units of a predetermined length equal to a plurality ofdouble length mouthpiece units arefed to every third groove 16 by meansof a feed chute 50 of a well known type diagrammatically shown inFIGURE 1. As shown in FIGURE 1 the filter rods of predetermined lengthare designated at 2 and are fed to the left hand side of the drum 17where they are effectively deposited in the grooves 16. Thus, a filterrod of a predetermined length equal to a plurality of double lengthfilter mouthpieces is inserted and deposited into each of the grooves16, but are not deposited in the grooves 30 and 31.

Pivoted to the disc or drum 17 is a plurality of radially arrangedtransfer arms 20 and 21 diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 1 which arerockably mounted on pins 22- and 23, and arranged to swing in oppositedirections toward and away from the grooved portion 16. The transferarms are arranged in circumferentially spaced relation and, extendradially with their end portions provided with grooves 18 and 19diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 1. The transfer arms 20 and 21 areprovided with bell crank levers 24 and 25 on the free ends of which isrotatably mounted follower rollers 26 and 27. The follower rollersengage cam discs 28 and 29 respectively fixed on the shaft 44- withrespect to the .rotary disc 17. It will be noted from an inspection ofFIGURE 1 that the cam discs 28 and 29 are arranged with their lobes insubstantially opposed relation so that when the disc 17 is travelingthrough a certain area, as for instance in the loading station area A,the transfer lever sets 20 and 21 will be positioned with theirrespective grooves 18 and 19 in axial alignment one with the other aswell as the groove 16 so that the grooves 18, 16 and 19 are in registryfor receiving a filter rod of a predetermined length equal to aplurality of double length filter mouthpieces. As mentioned before, afilter mouthpiece rod is inserted in every third groove on the drum 17and upon rotation of the drum 17 in a'manner which will be hereinafterfully described, the filter rod 2 is conveyed clockwise about the axis44 and is moved toward a rotating pair of cutting discs 34 mounted on asuitable shaft 35 and arranged in spaced relation so that the peripheraledge may be rotated between the discs 34. When the disc 17 is movedbetween the cutting discs 34 in a clockwise direction the filter rods 2are After the filter rod 2 has thus been cut to form threev doublelength filter mouthpiece units continued rotation of in FIGURE 1 in adirection of the arrows and toward the grooves 30 and 31 on the disc 17This movement occurs when the disc 17 has been angularly displacedapproximately 90 and when the transfer arms reach a position slightlygreater than 90 from the feeding stationA the grooves 18 and 19 in theends of the transfer arms will be aligned with the grooves 30 and 31arranged intermediate each groove 16. Upon further rotational movementof the drum 17 the transfer arms are maintained in the position abovedescribed and arcuately curved guide plates 32 and 33 (FIGURE 2) of wellknown construction are arranged on opposite sides of the disc 17 toshift the cut sections of the filter mouthpiece units in an axialdirection so that they will be'moved into vacant grooves 30 and 31 onthe disc 17 from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to the position shown inFIGURE 5. FIG- URE 2 illustrates the sequence of movements of thetransfer arms beginning with the feed station A and then progrossing tothe cutting station S. Upon further rotation of the disc 17 in aclockwise direction the cut sections are separated'as shown in FIGURES 2and 4 and are staggered so that when the cut sections carried by thegrooves 18 and 19 of the transfer guides 32 and 33 (FIGURES 2 and 9) theend-most cut sections will be moved into the vacant grooves 30 and 31 onopposite sides of the groove 16 and will assume the position shown inFIGURE 5 after the outermost cut sections have been guided and movedaxially by the arcuately curved guide strips 32 and 33 (FIGURES 2 and9).

Upon continued rotation of the disc 17 in a clockwise direction the cutsections of the filter rod are thus arranged in a straight line along anarcuate path one behind the other and in this position will fall bygravity at the point CS (FIGURE 1) and be deposited in the grooves"arette making machine is not shown since it forms no part of thepresent invention.

It will thus be seen from FIGURE 1 that the transfer arms 20 and 21 arearranged in circumferentially spaced sets and that after the cut lengthsof filter rod have been deposited in the groove of a filter mouthpiececigarette making machine that the transfer arms are again separated andmoved together when approaching the'feeding station A. 7

Since each set of transfer arms are substantially identical inconstruction, a description of one set will suffice for all sets.Referring to FIGURES'7 to 9 inclusive, it will be seen that the disc 17is rotatably mounted on the shaft '44 which may be broken away asillustrated with the broken away end attached to a machine framestructure. Connected to the shaft 44 is a bearing collar 52 which isheld in place by means of a relatively long machine screw 53. A bearingsleeve 55 is mounted on the collar 52 and rotatably supports the hubportion of the disc 17. The hub portion is provided with a cylindricalextension 56 forming a pulley which maybe driven by a suitable beltdrivingly connected to an electric motor not shown. An annular collar 57is secured to the hub portion of the disc 17 by means of a machine screwand engages one wall of the disc 17 and is received in an annular groove58 in the bearing collar 52. Thus, the disc 17 may be rotated about thefixed bearing collar 52 in a clockwise direction shown in FIGURE 1.

The bearing pin 22 for the transfer arm 20 (FIGURES 7. and 8) of eachtransfer arm set extends through a correspondingly shaped opening in thedisc 17 and projects a slight distance on opposite sides thereof. Thetransfer arm 20 is secured to one end of the pin 22 by a suitableclamping screw (FIGURES 7 and 8), while the other end is provided withthe bell crank arm 24 similarly held in place by a clamping screw. Thefollower rollers 26 are secured to the bell crank arms 24 by suitablebearing bolts and engage the peripheral edge of the cam 28. The transferarm is provided with a projection 37 to which one end of a coil spring35 is hooked as shown in FIG- URE 8. The other end of the coil spring 35is attached to a suitable stud 39 fastened to the radial wall of thedisc 17.

The other arm 21 of each set is pivoted to the disc 17 by means of astud 23 and is clamped thereto by means of a clamping screw 43 similarto the clamping screw for retaining the transfer arm 20 on itscorresponding stud 22. The bell crank arm 25 is integrated with thetransfer arm 21 (FIGURE 9) and the free end thereof is provided with asuitable bearing pin for accommodating the rotary follower roller 27.The follower roller 27 rides upon its cooperating cam 29. A coil spring36 has one of its hooked ends attached to a hook 38 secured to thetransfer arm 21, while its opposite end is attached to a pin it? bybeing hooked thereover similar to the connection between the spring 35and stud 39 previously described.

Secured to the bearing collar 52 by means of suitable machine screws 60is the cam disc 28 which has its inner end seated on a shoulder orreduced portion 61 of the bearing collar 52. The cam disc 29 isintegrated with the bearing collar 52 and is positioned to be engaged bythe roller 27 rotatably mounted on the end of the bell crank arm 25.

Thus, it will be seen, that upon rotation of the disc 17 the cams 28 and29 are so shaped that as each set approaches a position substantially ona plane extending vertically from the axis 44 they will be moved to theposition shown in FIGURE 7 in which the grooves 16, 18 and 19 of thedisc and respective transfer arms 20 and21 are in axial registry, andthat upon further rotation of the disc 17 the arms 20 and 21 of each setare moved in opposite directions against the tension of their respectivecoil springs 35 and 36 so that the grooves 18 and 19 in the free endsthereof will register in axial alignment with the peripheral grooves 30and 31 in the disc 17. In order to limit swinging movement of thetransfer arms 20 and 21 stop members 41 and 42 in the form of screws orthe like having enlarged heads are inserted in the radial wall of thedisc 17. The stop screw 41 is intended to be engaged by the transfer arm20 when the arm is moved so that its notch or groove 18 registers withthe groove 30 and is moved to this position by the coil spring 35 whenthe follower roller 26 is permitted to move inwardly and during theperiod when it is moving away from its lobe in its cyclic motion. Thetransfer arm 21 being under the tension of the spring 36 is similarlylimited in its movement by the stop screw 42 when the follower roller 27moves away from its lobe and permits the spring 36 to rock the transferarm 21 on its pivot pin 23 so that the groove 19 in the free end thereofis in axial registry with the groove 16 in the disc.

It will thus be seen that the transfer arms 20 and 21 operate in setsand are yieldingly urged in a counterclockwise direction (FIGURES 7 and8) and are moved in an opposite direction by the cam follower rollers 26and 27, and that during rotation of the disc 17 the transfer arms willmove together to a position shown in FIG- URE 7 and will then move apartand away from one another in opposite directions until their respectivegrooves 18 and 19 are in axial registry with the vacant grooves 30 and31.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention.

herewith shown and'described is to be taken as a preferred embodimentthereof and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

What I claim is:

l. Means for transferring an article from a position in alignment with afirst axial groove in the circumference of a rotatably mounted drum to asecond axial groove in said circumference which is circumferentiallyspaced from said first axial groove, comprising an arm, means securingsaid arm to said drum for pivotal movement about an axis parallel withthe axis of the drum and spaced from said axis of the drum-and from saidgrooves, stop means secured to said drum in position to limit pivotalmovement of said arm in one direction, a third groove in the end of saidarm parallel with said first and second grooves, a lateral projection onsaid arm, cam follower means on said projection, stationary cam means inposition for engagement with said cam fol-lower means, means associatedwith said arm biasing said arm towards engagement with said stop means,the length of said arm and the interrelation of said cam means, camfollower means and stop means being such as to align said third groovewith said first groove when said arm is in engagement with said stopmeans and to cause said cam means to align said third groove with saidsecond groove against the action of said biasing means during a phase ofthe rotation of the drum, and means for sliding an article disposed insaid third groove into said second groove during said phase of therotation of the drum.

2. Means for transferring an article from a position in alignment witha. first axial groove in the peripheral surface of a rotary drum to asecond axial groove in said peripheral surface which iscircumferentially spaced from said first axial groove, comprising anarm, means securing said arm to said drum for pivotal movement about anaxis parallel with the axis of the drum, a third groove in the free endof said arm parallel with said first and second grooves, a projection onsaid arm, cam follower means on said projection, stationary cam means inengagement with said cam follower means, the length of said arm and theinter-relation of said cam means and cam follower means being such as tocause said third groove to be aligned with said first groove during onephase of the rotation of the drum'and with said second groove during adifferent phase of the rotation of the drum, and stationary meansassociated with said drum for sliding an'article from said third grooveinto saidsecond groove during said different phase of the rotation ofthe drum.

3. Transfer means as set forth in claim 2, in which said means forsliding an article from said third groove into said second groovecomprises a member stationarily mounted adjacent to the periphery of thedrum at the same end of the drum as said arm and having a surfaceinclined at an angle to the end surface of the drum so that, when thedrum rotates, an article disposed in said third groove engages saidinclined surface and is forced by the same into said second groove.

4. Means for transferring two articles from positions at opposite endsof a rotary drum and in alignment with a first axial groove in theperipheral surface of said drum to a second and third axial groove,respectively, in said peripheral surface which are circumferentiallyspaced from said first groove and from each other, comprising two arms,means securing said arms to opposite ends of said drum for pivotalmovement about axes parallel with the axis of the drum, a fourth axialgroove in the free end of one of said arms, a fifth axial groove in thefree end of the other arm, a projection on each of said arms, camfollower means on each of said projections, stationary cam means inengagement with each of said cam follower means, the lengths of saidarms and the inte relation of said cam means and cam'follower meansbeing such as to cause said fourth and fifth grooves to be aligned withsaid first groove during one phase of the rotation of the drum and withsaid second and third grooves, respectively, during a different phase ofthe rotation of said drum, and stationary means adjacent to each end ofsaid drum for forcing articles from said fourth and fifth grooves intosaid second and third grooves, respectively, duringsaid different phaseof the rotation of the drum. N

5. Transfer means as set forth in claim 4, including biasing meansurging said arms in a pivotal direction for engagement of saidcamfollower means with said cam means, and stop means connected withsaid drum for limiting movement of said arms in the opposite pivotaldirection. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTSGreat Britain Mar. 20, 1957

